Grayson nodded, unapologetic. “Because I love you, Prickles. You’ll always come first, so I’maskingyou to go back to Naples with Rhett and Jace, so I can focus on finding your mafia prince. Honestly, I’d rather send you to a remote cabin in fucking Iceland or something but I know you wouldn’t go, so I’m scaling back to a reasonable request. I have security in Naples.”
Fuck. When he put it like that… sure, it made sense, but every cell in my body was screaming at me not to leave. Not to turn my back on Angel. He wouldn’t leave me if the roles were reversed. He didn’t when I’d been taken by Giovanni’s guys. He’d saved me, and now I needed to save him. Didn’t I?
“Babe, it’s okay to lean on us for help,” Rhett said softly, coming to kneel on the carpet to take my hands in his. “You’re not in this unconventional relationship alone, remember? We’re all in with you, which means we’re also in it with Angelo, the big, handsome dickhead. And we all have different strengths. Jace’s is to keep us all grounded and humble by always having a bigger ego and more arrogance than the rest of us…”
“Hey, asshole, I do not,” Jace muttered, scowling in offense.
Rhett smirked. “And Grayson happens to be a badass ex-murderer who is stupidly well-connected even after eight years out of the criminal world. He is the best person to track Angelo down, with Vee’s and Giana’s help, most likely. Can you trust him to do this for you? For all of us?”
I chewed my lip, really trying to accept what he was saying. “I guess your strength is being the voice of reason, huh?”
His grin turned wicked. “Thorn baby, I’m clearly here to provide competition in bed because I hold the record for giving you the most back-to-back orgasms.”
“You sure?” Grayson purred, and I fought back the urge to laugh. I actually wasn’t sure who held that title, but I’d let Rhett claim it for now. Until we got Angelo back.
“As foryou, Billie Bellerose,” Rhett continued, ignoring Grayson. “You’re—”
“Our heart,” Jace said softly, cutting him off with an intense stare in my direction. “You’re the one who reminded us all what it feels like to love… and be loved. You’re the sunshine creating a rainbow out of our miserable, wet day.”
Well fuck. When did Jace decide to jump all in like that?
“Three days,” I whispered, addressing Grayson. “Let us stay for three days while you look for Angelo. We won’t leave this suite; we won’t risk any danger. If you haven’t found him in three days, I’ll get on a plane without any resistance… but I need to have hope that you’ll find him. And when you do, I want tobe here.” Even if I understood that he’d spoken the truth about me being no help whatsoever.
Grayson nodded slowly. “Three days, and you don’t leave this suite. I can accept this on one condition.”
“Anything,” I agreed quickly.
The corner of his mouth twitched in a sly smile. “You sleep in my bed all three nights. It’ll help me focus if I can smell you on my sheets whenever I return to sleep.”
The heated look in his eyes told me he had other things in mind that would help himfocus, and I was all too willing to oblige. “Deal,” I agreed.
Three days… I pinned all my hope on Grayson and Vee’s ability to track Angelo down before that time was up because the idea of leaving the country without him made me feel physically sick. I’d just gotten him back; I couldn’t fathom losing him for real this time.
five
BILLIE
After we finished breakfast, Grayson left. Jace disappeared to his bedroom, and a few moments later the sound of guitar music trickled out to us to say he was working on new music again. Jace’s favorite distraction had always been composing… after sex, of course. But with that off the cards between us, he was going straight to the art of songwriting to deal with his feelings.
Rhett turned on a movie for us to watch, but within about twenty minutes he was fast asleep again. He seemed so peaceful, so I flicked off the TV and pulled a blanket over him so he could rest.
We’d brought all our luggage with us, so I hunted through my suitcase for a swimsuit. The indoor pool was calling to me, and my restless energy was demanding exercise. I changed, then checked on Rhett again before opening the glass door off the living room to the narrow lap pool. Tossing my towel on one of the sun loungers, I dipped a toe in the water and smiled to find it heated.
I drew a deep breath, then dove right in. The water hugged my body as I started to swim, holding me afloat as I soared the length of the pool, then executed a sloppy tuck turn at the end to return. I used to love swimming in high school, excelling at swim meets. But then I’d become a reckless teenager in love with her two best friends and quickly lost myself inotherphysical activities in my spare time.
Up and down the pool I swam until my head stopped spinning with worst-case scenarios and my limbs ached with exhaustion. Only then did I notice the pair of men’s legs dangling in the water near the stairs.
“Hey,” I puffed, swiping water from my eyes as I surfaced near Jace. “How long have you been here?”
He gave me a lopsided smile. “A while. Do you feel better?”
I nodded, wordless.
“Can I join you?” he asked, gesturing to the water.
Again, I nodded, and he slid into the water with barely a splash. Graceful bastard. He swam closer to where I floated, deep enough that I couldn’t touch the bottom and keep my head above water.
“I guess there’re worse places to hide out for a few days,” he murmured, his lashes low over his eyes as he glided through the water. He was tall enough that he could keep his feet on the ground, but I quickly ran out of energy and grasped for the edge.
